“Well …” His gaze flicks to me and away again, stirring that something in my gut. “No. I don’t think she’s ever said that. Actually, I don’t think being married and having kids are requirements on her list. When it comes down to it, Margot wants me to be happy and stop stressing her out so much.”

“And that’s different from your list, how?”

“It’s not.” He sounds surprised. “When you really get down to it. I think I’ve reached a point where I’m so used to fucking up I expect it. Hell, I think I even welcome the challenge. The change. It keeps things interesting.”

“You like fucking up?”

He’s clearly at war with himself. “No. Yes? I mean, I must since I keep doing it. Some days, I think everyone is making life so much harder than it needs to be and that if we’d all calm down and see what happens, we’d be a lot happier. Not everyone needs a twelve-point plan with goals and spreadsheets. Some people have to make a whole heap of mistakes until they get it right.”

I’m starting to maybe understand where Margot is coming from. Because maybe Colin is a little bit the same, and one of our last conversations comes back to me. “And some people need those goals and spreadsheets because they can’t afford to make mistakes.”

“What do you mean?”

I shift a cushion closer to him and turn to the side so I can see him properly. Perry mirrors me, half lying against the couch as he eats his way through a box of dry cereal. “I think we’re probably more similar than I’d like.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m the brother who gets to make all the mistakes and have all the fun, while Colin is always having to think three steps ahead. I don’t have a fucking clue how much pressure it must be to always be thinking of everything all the time, and I guess you don’t either.”

“You’re saying that I use up her share of mistakes?”

“Every relationship needs a stable one.”

Perry crunches softly, and I reach over to steal one as well. We’ve already had dinner, so I might as well follow it up with dessert. “You seem pretty stable to me,” he says.

“The night we met, I was planning to confront a potential crime lord solo.”

His eyes crinkle. “You’re good at hiding it, then.”

“Before Colin went missing, I was planning to sleep with the guy writing a feature article on us.”

Perry’s chuckle is a warm rumble in his chest. “That could have gotten messy.”

“Very. Just like this. Now. Choosing to trust the guy who tried to shoot me.”